Action Together NJ, affiliated with the national Action Together Network, is a grassroots movement that supports existing organizations working to protect our civil rights and civil liberties, which are imperiled more now that at any time in recent history.

While Sussex County progressives have celebrated election of the first Democrat to represent Congressional District 5 in decades, five county municipalities—Byram Township, Hopatcong, Ogdensburg, Sparta Township and Stanhope—are part of District 11, represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen, who has held that seat for 22 years.

“Even though New Jersey is a pretty liberal state, Sussex County is very, very red, and it can feel lonely sometimes,” said Lindsay Campbell of the Sussex County Chapter of the National Organization for Women. In it’s first public action, Sussex County NOW, which numbers about 30 people so far but is growing, joined forces with others at a rally Saturday to support the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Newton.

Within the past month, we passed two significant social media milestones, and for that, we thank you. Our page ‘likes’ now exceed five hundred. Perhaps more significantly, we have more people following our page than do the Sussex County Republican Committee. Consider that they had (until recently) two congressmen and a full set of state Assemblymen and Senator to share their message, and that’s saying something.

Despite losing the popular vote for the presidency by almost 3 million votes, GOP lawmakers have claimed a national “mandate” to dismantle the social safety net, restrict women’s reproductive rights, eliminate environmental protections and in general turn the county away from ensuring the human and civil rights that “make America great” and that the Democratic Party supports wholeheartedly.

Former county Freeholder and state labor commissioner Harold J. Wirths, a former Chris Christie cabinet member who currently holds a position with the state Parole Board, has thrown his hat into the ring and announced he will run in the Republican primary for an assembly seat in 2017.